At a gorgeous stretch of beach on Cambridge Cay, part of the Exumas Land and Sea Park, the owner of a large power yacht moored nearby extended his hand to me at the cruiser's sundowner. I hesitated. There is no reason we shouldn't be practicing the same forms of social distancing as people anywhere else. While daily life has felt largely unchanged for cruisers here, the shadow of coronavirus is finally passing over the sun-drenched islands. Today brought news of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Nassau. A cruise ship with 5 infected people aboard was refused dockage at Freeport. So although cruising itself is a form of social distancing, and most islands we have visited are sparsely populated, we cannot escape the possibility of exposure. Of course, we have been concerned for weeks as news of the virus has affected every aspect of life as we have known it. We are in close touch with our family and friends and following the increasing restrictions that communities are wisely putting in place. It's a scary time. The Canadian boaters seem to be heading back quickly; there is fear that the border may be closed. Our response is the now the opposite--to take our time while communities back home deal with flattening the curve of infection.

On March 10, we set out from Black Point on the inside for an easy 7 mile trip to Staniel Cay, where we anchored beside Big Majors in the Bay of Pigs. The swimming feral pigs are a major attraction here, but after my friend was bitten the butt last year by a 500-pound sow, we decided to approach them only by dinghy. The snorkeling in the area is wonderful, including the famous Thunderball Grotto, where the light pours through a hole in the cave illuminating the coral and fish. We entered in between tours and had the grotto to ourselves for a while. The best snorkeling was found as we swam through and then around the grotto, through an undersea garden of coral. Staniel Cay is a hub of activity, with a popular yacht club and a blue (Burke's) and pink (Pink Pearl) grocery, each carrying various provisions we needed. With the wind out of the east at under 20 knots, it was possible to find protected coves to explore.

We picked up a mooring in the park at Cambridge Cay after a lovely sail on a beam reach at 7.5 knots. Our friends on Jubilee and Sweet Emotion had shallower drafts, and motored through the stunning waters of Pipe Creek. We set out to find Larry's Reef, using the helpful waypoint on the map of Cambridge Cay attractions that the wardens on M/V Privateer will provide. There are no markers or day moorings for the reef, so it's a place for drift snorkeling in the dingy--snorkeling while pulling the dinghy along behind us. The coral gardens are vast and beautiful and we made several passes through on both days we were there. Bill of Jubilee offered to take us through Pipe Creek on his boat, so we could see the beauty of this secluded area for ourselves without worrying about the shallows. It was great to be a passenger with no responsibilities as first mate. I took my perch on the bow and marveled at the varied shades of blue and green. It was so lovely that we decided to back-track to the anchorage at Pipe Cay, by the abandoned Decca Station. It's and easy hike to the beach overlooking Pipe Creek, and I joined Julie of Jubilee and Sheri of Lost Shaker for a paddle board trip into the mangrove-lined creek.

Time slips from one day to the next. Last year at this time, we stumbled upon a rowdy celebration at one of the bars that line Marsh Harbor in the Abacos, and realized it was St. Patrick's Day. This year we will be in splendid isolation, thinking of all our loved ones in this time of uncertainty.